In case you didn’t know, a couple of weeks ago we started with our Facebook Fan Page (different from ArchDaily’s group on Facebook). The interaction that we have been experiencing with you has been awesome, so we decided to turn things upside down for a change.
Internationally recognized practice RMJM Architects have recently announced their groundbreaking $1 billon mixed-use complex for the Atasehir district, the growing residential and business area of Istanbul, Turkey. RMJM’s complex will allow the new business center to flourish by serving 20,000 people and providing for a variety of their needs. The project will be revolutionary for Turkey as it will become the country’s first LEED-certified mixed-use development upon its 2011 completion date.
More images and more about the complex after the break.
The Steel Structures Education Foundation organized a competition designed for students to fuse their conceptual ideas with the reality of physical structure. With the program and scale left to the discretion of the designer, the proposal had to emphasize the “essential relationship” between the exploration of form and material, with regards to surfaces, members and connections. As an academic project, students also had to use their details to communicate with the steel fabrication industry as a way to expose ”the opportunities and restraints inherent in realizing conceptual design.” “It is important for students of architecture to grasp the fact that structural design lies not just in the realm of the engineer, but can be a means for architects of arriving at a meaningful realization of architectural ideas,” explained the SSEF. The winner, student Matt Schmid from the University of Waterloo, designed a bird sanctuary in Niagara Gorge in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.
More about the winning entry after the break.
Located in Phuket, Thailand, Paul Studio Architects‘ Bluepoint Sales Pavilion provides a space for potential clients to enjoy the surrounding views. The elegant wooden structure gracefully compliments the landscape by “responding to the powerful contextual site conditions.”
More about the residence after the break.
Jacques Ferrier Architects were selected to design the French Pavillion at Shanghai Expo 2010. Their project ‘The Sensual City’ is a simple building with a big style French garden inside. Surrounded by water it appears to be floating.
The 6000 square meter pavillion will use advanced building materials and environmental protection technology including solar panels on top of the roof.
Seen at designboom. More images after the break.
Located in Singapore, Telok Blangah Hill Park‘s newest addition includes “a fly-over-like infrastructure” that reaches 120 feet above the forest floor. The walkways are a respectful way to view nature as they provide a place for viewers to unobtrusively admire the landscape.
More images and more about the walkways after the break.
Conix Architects in collaboration with JV Realys have won the competition to design the Belgian Pavillion for Shanghai Expo 2010.
The structure of a brain cell is the dominant conceptual image for the pavilion. It aims to evokes the artistic and scientific richness of Belgium and the country’s central position within Europe.
The brain cell also refers directly to the role of Belgium as one of Europe’s main gathering centres and cross-points of 3 great cultural traditions: the Latin, the Germanic and the Anglo-Saxon. Belgium, closely connected to its surrounding countries, has always been a ‘place of balance’ where people have gathered with common interests that surpass their national needs.
Seen at designboom. More images after the break.
TWS & Partners named their latest work Studio 2 in 1, as it accommodates the function of a home and a studio within one place. The studio is located in the urban setting of Jakarta, amidst the semi-detached housing units that are typical of the area. With a small site measuring 10 meter by 20 meter, the project aims to “elaborate the tropical, shaded, natural illuminated, and cross ventilation, breathing space regardless all the limitation of space.”
More images and further project description after the break.
Morphosis just shared with us their proposal for the Four Towers in One Competition. The competition (which Steven Holl Architects ultimately won) asked participants to design an office tower complex for the new Shenzhen Stock Exchange Headquarters in the Futian commercial business district. The area was in need of a unified urban plan that would include the Headquarters for the new office towers of Shenzhen Media Group, China Construction Bank, China Insurance Group, and Southern & Bosera Funds. For Morphosis’ proposal, rather than creating various disconnected vertical skyscrapers, the project aims to create one “cohesive, interwoven district.” By conceiving the sites as 3-dimensional envelopes rather than flat 2-dimensional footprints, the buildings can be interwoven to “facilitate a network of interlocking forms reminiscent of the venerated Chinese puzzle.”
More images and further project description after the break.
GAZ Arquitectos were recently announced as the winners of the headquarters design for the Higher School of Music in Basque Country in San Sebastián, Spain. The proposal, entitled Muskiene, compiles a dense program in a relatively small site, causing the volumes to almost exceed local regulations.
More about Muskiene and more images after the break.
Design Studio 4of7 in conjunction with the University of Belgrade’s Graduate Program has spent a year exploring alternatives for the Port of Belgrade, a 110 hectare site on the river Danube bank in Southeast Europe. The port belongs to the central zone of the city and currently, the former industrial riverfront has attracted developers, city authorities, architects and planners to design its future potential. Over the last two academic terms, the Graduate Program has had the opportunity to work with the actual redevelopment of the site and exchange ideas with Daniel Libeskind Studio and Gehl Architects who are both working on the master plan.
More about the design after the break.
The Spain Pavilion will have a steel structure and a wicker cover. Spanish handcrafters will weave out different patterns by using different colors of wicker, said Benedetta Tagliabue, designer of the pavilion. The wicker will be covered by a special material that is water-proof. It will also keep the pavilion at a comfortable temperature, said Tagliabue.
The idea “forest and fortress” comes from the literal meaning of the Chinese term for Luxembourg. The pavilion, built from steel, wood and glass, will be an open fortress around with greenery. The 15-meter-high main structure will resemble an ancient castle with large openings surrounded by medieval towers,
“All the materials are recyclable,” said the architect of the pavilion, Francois Valentiny. Also, the outside walls will be translucent, on which Chinese characters will be shown. The exhibition area of the pavilion is about 1,300 square meters. The downstairs hall will stage a satellite video show displaying live scenes from the country. “Visitors will be able to talk with Luxembourg people through satellite. And we will bring live programs of Luxembourg events here,” said Jeannot Krecke, the country’s Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade.
Seen at Archtracker. More images after the break.
Diller Scofidio + Renfro‘s Creative Arts Center for the Brown University campus is slated for completion in 2010. The new 36,000 square foot center will include a 200 seat recital hall, 35mm screening facility, recording studio, multimedia lab, gallery space and large multi-purpose production studios.
More about the Arts Center and more images after the break.
The Re: Vision Dallas competition named three winners, two of which we previously featured on AD (DB + P and Atelier Data + Moov). The third winner is Little, a studio based in North Carolina, with their Entangled Bank proposal. “Entangled Bank combines heavy duty technological prowess with artistic integration of systems. The building is designed as a holistic, integrated design…The Entangled Bank entry materials was incredibly impressive… Each unit type was designed, completed with suggested sale price and amount of energy consumption. A wide array of green collar job programs were provided that work with the design of the building to engage residents and educate visitors. All of the jurors were struck by the thorough and joyous submission of Entangled Bank,” explained juror Eric Corey Freed.
More about the project (including a great video) after the break.
The 6,000-square-meter Canada Pavilion, among the biggest at the site, will feature an exhibition themed “The Living City: Inclusive, Sustainable, Creative.” It is expected to welcome up to 5.5 million people or 30,000 visitors per day during the six-month Expo period.
The pavilion will be anchored by an open public place and surrounded by three large structures. The square will be a performing area, where visitors can watch the performances of Cirque du Soleil before checking out the pavilion, said Gregson.
The overall budget for the Canadian pavilion will be 45 million Canadian dollars (US$43.57 million), she added. Canada has also given environmental protection consideration into the pavilion. Part of the pavilion’s exterior walls will be covered by a special kind of greenery and rainwater will be collected by a drainage system for use inside the pavilion.
Cirque du Soleil created the concept design for the Pavillion and will also create public performances, organize cultural programs and develop strategic corporate alliances for the pavillion.
Seen at archtracker. More images after the break.
The new Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum designed by Trahan Architects has just entered its construction phase. The museum’s donated memorabilia embodies “the contributions of the diverse cultures that have shaped the state and are crucial to understanding the unique traditions and legacy of Louisiana and the Gulf South.” Principal Trey Trahan, FAIA, describes the project as “an incredible opportunity to create a place that will celebrate the deep history of North Louisiana, as well as the indelible influence sports have had on our state’s culture.”
More images and more about the Hall of Fame and the Museum after the break.
Our friends from 3LHD shared their awarded competition proposal for a private medical center for Firule in Split, Croatia. The Polyclinic is situated close to the sea and its fresh air, near an existing hospital complex.
More about the clinic after the break.
